Local non-profit offers legal help, guidance to Hudson County residents

A Hoboken woman sits nervously on the couch, switching a frozen drink between her hands. She asks for a coaster to put her drink down; she doesn't want to spill it. "I'm clumsy," she chuckles, finding her way back to the couch to tell her story.

"For me," she starts, "I have a learning disability, and I'm very independent. I wasn't used to asking for help."

A mother of two boys, Madeline Lopez works as a crossing guard in the city and found herself getting evicted from her apartment. Despite "hearing scary stories of lawyers," Lopez asked for help from The Waterfront Project, a non-profit organization that helps Hudson County residents with legal matters.

Elizabeth Caraballo, the founding director of The Waterfront Project, worked with Lopez to help settle the landlord-tenant dispute. From there, Caraballo says she noticed other issues Lopez struggled with and offered financial services as well.

"I was stressed," Lopez says. "I was trying to fix the problem and couldn't."

Lopez learned how to create a family budget and fix her outstanding bank issues, she says.

Unlike Northeast Legal Services, The Waterfront Project is not state-funded and relies on private donations from businesses and individuals.

"The biggest challenge is not being able to help everybody who goes through the door," Caraballo adds. "These people have a strong need to be helped and we can't help them."

As the only employee at the clinic, Caraballo networks through the Catholic Communities of Saints Peter & Paul. The non-profit's office is located right next to the church, home to founder Monsignor Robert Meyer's congregation.

Father Bob, as he is best known, says the idea of the clinic was kicking around in his head for a couple of months before he asked a few lawyers in his congregation to brainstorm a model.

"Hoboken is a unique place," Meyer says. "People who sit in the congregation are very talented, and each community has a need."

Meyer approached lawyers, attorneys, paralegals and other law-minded people to join a growing list of people to help with the clinic, based on their expertise, adds Caraballo.